SEX-LINKED INHERITANCE

SEX-LINKED INHERITANCE
• The X- and Y-chromosomes are referred to as the sex chromosomes as these determine the sex
of the individual
• These sex chromosomes in many animal species are of unequal size and shape
• Genes located on X-chromosomes in mammals (Z-chromosome in birds) are called as
sex-linked or X-linked genes
• Traits controlled by the genes located on the sex chromosomes are called as sex-linked traits
• Process of transmission of traits from generation to generation through the genes located on
the sex chromosomes is called as sex-linked inheritance
• Sex-inked genes have a special pattern of inheritance unlike those in autosomes because there
are two X-chromosomes in females and one in males
• Genes located on the homologous region of X- and Y- chromosomes are inherited similar to the
autosomal genes. These genes are therefore referred to as ‘pseudo autosomal genes’
• Genes located on the non-homologous segment of the X-chromosome are said to be sex-linked
or X-linked
• Genes located on the non-homologous region of Y-chromosome are referred to as ‘holandric
genes’ or Y-linked genes
• Y-linked genes do not undergo recombination due to crossing over because there is no
homologous region on the X-chromosome. These are transmitted from father to all his sons but
to none of his daughters

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Example 1: Eye colour in Drosophila melanogaster
• Wild type Drosophila melanogaster has red eye
• In 1910, Morgan observed a male white-eyed Drosophila melanogaster

• The white eye is produced by a gene ‘w’ and the red eye is due to its dominant allele ‘W’
• Later, these genes were found to be located on the X-chromosomes

• Morgan mated this white-eyed male fly with a red-eyed female. In F 1, all flies were red-eyed
and in F2 (F1 X F1), red-eyed and white-eyed flies were produced in the ratio of 3:1 (a typical
monohybrid ratio)

• But all white-eyed flies were males and no white-eyed female flies were noticed
• Reciprocal cross i.e., crossing a white-eyed female with a red-eyed male produced red-eyed
females and a white-eyed males in the F 1 generation. In the F 2, red-eyed and white-eyed flies
occurred in equal ratio in both the sexes
• Morgan interpreted the above results assuming that the genes for eye colour must be located
on the sex chromosome. He postulated that females must be homogametic (XX) and males
heterogametic (XY)

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• Gene ‘W’ for red eye and gene ‘w’ for white eye
• Y-chromosome is genetically blank i.e., it does not carry an allele for any gene found in the
X-chromosome
P White-eyed male X Red-eyed female
Genotype wY WW
Gametes w Y W

F1 Ww WY
Red-eyed female Red-eyed male
F1 X F1 Ww X WY
Gametes W w W Y
F2
Gametes W Y
WW WY
W
(Red-eyed female) (Red-eyed male)
Ww wY
w
(Red-eyed female) (White-eyed male)

Phenotypic ratio 3 (Red) : 1 (White) Sex ratio 1 (Male) : 1 (Female)

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Reciprocal cross

P Red-eyed male X White-eyed female

F1 Ww wY
Red-eyed female White-eyed male
F1 X F1 Ww X wY
Gametes W w w Y
F2
Gametes w Y
Ww WY
W
(Red-eyed female) (Red-eyed male)
ww wY
w
(White-eyed female) (White-eyed male)

Phenotypic ratio 1 (Red) : 1 (White) Sex ratio 1 (Male) : 1 (Female)

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• In F2, equal number of red-eyed and white-eyed flies with normal sex ratio appeared

• This is a significant deviation from normal autosomal gene inheritance (there is no difference in
the ratio obtained between crosses made with two pure breeding varieties and their reciprocal
crosses)

• This peculiar pattern of genetic behaviour shown by the white-eye colour indicates that its
gene is carried on the X-chromosome

• In Drosophila, males are heterogametic (XY) and they produce two kinds of sperms (X and Y) in
equal proportions. Females are homogametic (XX) and they produce only one type of ovum (X)

• Another interesting feature of sex-linked genes is that in the heterogametic sex, a single allele is
able to express itself

• Genotype of sex-linked genes in the heterogametic sex (male) is known as hemizygous

• Since males have only a single copy of the X-chromosome, they have only a single allele for any
gene on the X-chromosome

• Males are said to be hemizygous for any X-chromosome genes, meaning that there are only
half ("hemi") as many alleles as normally present for a diploid individual
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Example 2: Haemophilia in human (Bleeders’ disease)

• Haemophilia is a condition in which the blood will not clot when exposed to air
• In normal persons, clotting of blood stops bleeding from wounds and prevents fatal haemorrhages;
but in haemophilics, even a small skin injury can lead to death from loss of blood
• This disease is caused by a sex-linked recessive, semi-lethal gene ‘h’
• Daughters of haemophilic men are all normal but are carriers of the gene. They transmit this gene to
half of their sons and daughters through the X-chromosome
• Since males have only one X-chromosome, the recessive haemophilic gene ‘h’ is expressed
• As the females have two X- chromosomes, the recessive haemophilic gene (‘h’) is masked by the
normal gene (‘H’) on the other X- chromosome and so the female progeny will only be the
heterozygous carriers
• Haemophilia in females can be observed in the progeny of a woman who is a carrier or heaemophilic
and a man who is haemophilic

• When a normal man (HY) marries a carrier woman (Hh), half the sons will be normal and half will be
haemophilic. Among the daughters, half will be normal and half will be carriers

• When a haemophilic man (hY)marries a carrier woman (Hh), half the sons will be normal and half will
be haemophilic. Among the daughters, half will be haemophilic and the other half will be carriers
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Example 3: Red-Green colour blindness in human
• Red-green colour blindness is due to a sex-linked recessive gene
• It is more common in men (about 8%) than among women (about 0.5%), as the sex-linked
recessive genes are more frequently expressed in males (hemizygous sex)
• If ‘C’ is the gene for normal vision and ‘c’ for colour blindness, then a colour blind man will have
the genotype “cY” and a colour blind women will have the genotype “cc”

• The colour blind woman receives one ‘c’ from her father and one ‘c’ from her mother
• Father of a colour blind woman must be colour blind (cY). The mother of a colour blind woman
must carry at least one ‘c’, and so she must be either a carrier (Cc) or colour blind (cc)
• Half the sons of carrier females (Cc) will be colour-blind. All the sons of colour blind (cc) woman
will be colour blind
• Both male and female progeny born to a normal female (CC) and a colour blind male (cY) will
have normal colour vision. But, all the female progeny will be carriers as they receive colour
blind gene from the colour blind father
• Genotypes: CC – Normal woman; Cc – Carrier woman; cc – colour blind woman
CY – Normal man; cY – Colour blind man

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Crisscross inheritance

• Sex-linked genes are carried on X-chromosome and have a pattern of inheritance that deviates
from the autosomal inheritance

• In mammals, the male transmits its sex-linked genes to half of the grandsons through its
daughter

• Parents of one generation pass on the sex-linked character to the opposite sex of next
generation. Such a pattern of inheritance is known as crisscross inheritance or skip generation
inheritance

• Son does not receive the sex-linked genes or X-chromosomes from his father but only from his
mother; he always receives the Y-chromosome from the father

• Daughter receives the X-chromosomes, one each from the father and mother

• Nasse’s Law : Affected males transmit the condition through normal daughter (carriers) to
about half of their grandsons

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Features of sex-linked recessive diseases
1. They occur more in males than in females
2. It is transmitted from affected man through normal daughter to half of the grandsons
3. Does not occur in a woman unless her father has it
4. All the sons of the woman having this trait are affected
Features of sex-linked dominant diseases
1. More common in females
2. All female offspring of affected male will be affected
3. If mother is normal, sons will not be affected with the diseases
Y-linked inheritance
• Y-chromosomes are nearly inert and only a few corresponding genes of X-chromosomes are
present (about 200 genes)
• Inheritance of genes carried on Y-chromosome is called holandric inheritance and the genes are
called holandric genes
• These genes do not undergo recombination due to crossing over because there is no homologous
region on the X-chromosome
• These are transmitted from father to all his sons but not to his daughters

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 SEX-LINKED INHERITANCE AND AUTOSEXING IN CHICKEN

• In poultry, male is the homogametic sex (ZZ) and female is the heterogametic sex (ZW)
• In domestic fowl, certain characters are transmitted from the dam to her sons but not to her
daughters; but transmitted from the sire to his sons and daughters
• Characters that are transmitted from dam to sons are called sex-linked characters
• Example: Barred feathers (B) and non-barred feathers (b)
• Punnett in 1930 hypothesized that the gene for barred colour patterns acted differently in male
and female chicks. The males received two barred genes and the females only one, so male chicks
would be lighter in colour and more barred than the females
• Sex-linked inheritance in domestic fowl is utilized for identifying the sex of day-old chicks
(autosexing) without resorting to the vent sexing

• "Autosexing" refers to breeds or varieties of chickens where the males and females hatch out with
different markings or different colours. Depending on the breed, a male may have a white spot on
his head while a female doesn't, or the males and females may just hatch out a different colour

• The barring gene (sex-linked) produces stripy appearance in some breeds like Barred Plymouth
Rocks and Dominiques
• Principle for autosexing in fowls is that male should have the recessive character in homozygous
condition and female should have the dominant character
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